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This Week's Long Run Fuel

Cool weather, eating more carbohydrates than usual the day before and for my pre-run meal and just being farther along in marathon training all contributed to a great 18.5 mile run this week. I ran faster (9:31/mile ave. pace) than I did during my previous 18 milers and finished fast at 9:05 and 8:50 pace for the last two miles.

Too Much Liquid
One disadvantage of drinking my fuel over getting all that I need from food with water is that sometimes I drink too much like I did during this run. With a running drink, when it's cooler I don't need to drink as much, but I still need to fuel my run and this requires adjusting - sometimes it's hard to do on the run and it takes a little more experimenting in similar weather conditions.Recap of My 50.5 Mile Week

I'm running a marathon on February 28, but first I'm running the Love. Run. Half Marathon on February 14. They've changed the name since I ran the half in 2012 when I won my age group (!), but it's put on by the same group. That was a great race - I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day and I hope you are, too!

Comments

This is so interesting! I'm reading up on fueling and nutrition since I'm still learning what works for me. Some people can't run with food in their belly, but I don't think that's me. I might play around with real food instead of gels and see what happens. Great, high-mileage week!

Great job on your long run. I can't imagine doing 50 mile wk. Wow! I recently wore a skirt with pockets during a race and I can't believe how much fuel you can actually fit in the pockets. Love them! -L

During my last race, I actually "lost" a gel in one of my pockets and thought that I dropped it or ate one too early - something I have to be careful of in the future when I have a lot of pockets with a lot of gels. It worked out fine, though, in the end!

I only food fuel every 6 miles on a long run (and only on long runs over 13 miles) with Gu - anything more than that is just too much for my stomach. I do drink a lot of water and Gatorade though, especially if it's hot out. I love Gatorade on long runs, when you're tired and dehydrated it is like the nectar of the gods!!

I drink a lot when it's hot out, too, which is most of the time here in Texas! They're serving Gatorade at the marathon I'm running soon so I'll probably have that to supplement my main fuel. I think it's the endurance formula with more sodium than the usual.

Your marathon is right around the corner now! I'm glad your training is going so well. That's one disadvantage I saw to using the Tailwind: I would really have to drink a lot of fluid to get all of my fuel that way. I'm definitely looking forward to giving it a try, but I doubt I will ever rely on it as my sole form of fuel.

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